A battery for being loaded in an electronic apparatus in related art is known which includes a case, a plurality of cylindrical battery cells accommodated in the case, and a battery side connector section provided on the case and connected to the battery cells. The battery is configured such that, when it is accommodated into a battery accommodating chamber of an electronic apparatus, the battery side connector section is connected to an electronic apparatus side connector section in the battery accommodating chamber.
Where a plurality of different types of batteries which are different in capacity or characteristic from each other are available as any of the batteries of the types described above, it is preferable to discriminate a property of a battery compatible with an electronic apparatus and permit loading of the battery if the battery is compatible with the electronic apparatus but inhibit loading of the battery if the battery is not compatible.
To this end, a structure is known which permits loading only of a battery compatible with an electronic apparatus into a battery accommodating chamber of the electronic apparatus. According to the structure, a recess such as a hole or a groove is provided at a portion of a case of the battery which corresponds to a dead space which appears between outer circumferential faces of battery cells in the case. Meanwhile, a projection for fitting with the recess of the case of the battery is provided in a battery accommodating chamber of an electronic apparatus such that, when the shapes and the positions of the recess and the projection coincide with each other and are fitted with each other, loading of the battery into the battery accommodating chamber is permitted. However, if the shapes and/or the positions of the recess and the projection do not coincide with each other and cannot be fitted with each other, then loading of the battery into the battery accommodating chamber is inhibited.
Meanwhile, since efforts are made in recent years to reduce the thickness of a battery as miniaturization of electronic apparatus proceeds, a battery cell of a flattened substantially rectangular plate shape is used in place of a cylindrical battery cell. Thus, a battery cell of a flattened substantially rectangular plate shape of a reduced size has been proposed and disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-266826.
Also another battery for being loaded in an electronic apparatus in related art is known and disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 9-266015. The battery includes a case, a battery cell accommodated in the case, and a connector section provided on the case. The battery is configured such that, when it is loaded into a battery accommodating chamber of an electronic apparatus, the connector section thereof is connected to a connector section of the electronic apparatus in the battery accommodating chamber.
The connector section of the battery has a plurality of contact pieces provided at a location of the case facing downwardly and connected to the battery cell. Meanwhile, the connector section of the electronic apparatus has a plurality of contact pieces provided on a bottom face of the battery accommodating chamber for contacting with the contact pieces of the battery. Thus, if the bottom face of the battery is received by the bottom face of the battery accommodating chamber, then the contact pieces of the connector section of the battery and the contact pieces of the connector section of the electronic apparatus are connected to each other.